January 29, 2013

New Sentencing Project report on 2012 state statutory sentencing developments

I just received an e-mail promoting a notable new report just released by The Sentencing Project. Here is the full text of the e-mail, signed by Marc Mauer, which includes a link to the report:

I am pleased to share with you a new report from The Sentencing Project, The
State of Sentencing 2012: Developments in Policy and Practice, by Nicole D. Porter. The
report
highlights reforms in 24 states that demonstrate a continued trend to
reform sentencing policies and scale back the use of imprisonment
without compromising public safety. The report provides an overview of
recent policy reforms in the areas of sentencing,
probation and parole, collateral consequences, and juvenile
justice. Highlights include:

Death penalty: Connecticut abolished the death penalty, becoming the 17th
state to do so.

Parole and probation reforms: Seven states — Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, and Pennsylvania — expanded the use of
earned time for eligible prisoners and limited the use of incarceration for probation and parole violations.

Juvenile life without parole: Three states — California, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania — authorized sentencing relief for certain individuals sentenced
to juvenile life without parole.

I hope you find this publication useful in your work. The full report,
which includes a comprehensive chart on criminal justice reform
legislation, details on sentencing, probation and parole, collateral
consequences of conviction, juvenile justice and policy
recommendations, can be found online here. I’d encourage you to be in touch with Nicole D. Porter, Director of Advocacy, at nporter@sentencingproject.org
to discuss how we can support your efforts in the area of state policy reform.